South Korea's KAI Completes the Development of Amphibious Variant of Surion Helicopter

South Korea's KAI Completes the Development of Amphibious Variant of Surion Helicopter

Posted On
Tuesday, 29 December 2015 11:29

a

Defense
Industry News - South Korea

South
Korea's KAI Completes the Development of Amphibious Variant of Surion
Helicopter

KAI,
or Korea Aerospace Industries, Inc. announced today it has completed
the development of the amphibious variant of its Surion transport helicopter,
which will help enhance the range of operation and mobility for the
ROK Marine Corps, specifically from ROK Navy Dokdo class LPH.

KAI Surion-amphibious
task helicopter was designed to be based onboard Dokdo
class LPH
Picture: KAI

KAI started the navalization project in 2013 to produce a sea-based
version of the twin-engine transport utility helicopter for the Marines,
which will carry out transport missions from or to vessels at sea. Since
its maiden flight in January last year, KAI conducted eight months of
test flights and achieved qualification on the new helicopter's capability
to operate in the marine environment, the company said in a statement.

KAI Surion-amphibious
task helicopter was designed to be based onboard Dokdo
class LPH
Picture: KAI

Serial
production is expected to start in the first half of 2016 and delivery
to the military will be wrapped up by 2019.

"The latest success in the development is expected to help double
our military's ability to conduct multidimensional high-speed amphibious
operations," a KAI representative said. "It will also help expand
the radius of operations of the Marine Corps and improve their mobility."

The marine version comes with additional functions and high-tech equipment
to be used for the Marine Corps' various amphibious missions.

Two auxiliary fuel tanks were added to the marine chopper in addition
to the four original tanks, which empowers the upgraded model to fly 524
kilometers for three hours without stopping. The extended range was verified
in a flight test conducted in September, according to KAI.

The helicopter is also fitted with folding rotor blades to be reduce their
footprint on surface vessels.